Juba Another Day

Today was definitely a plan B day! I got up at 6:15, showered, dressed, had breakfast, checked out, and was at the airport by 7:30. The ticket said to be there at 7:00 so I was a little nervous about arriving late but everybody at the hotel assured me it was not a problem. That was more correct than even they knew. I had to stay in the outside waiting area because my flight was not scheduled to leave until noon. So I watched people, texted Justin, and read. Around 10:00 I went to the entrance to the terminal and was told my flight had been rescheduled for TOMORROW! As Angelo would say, "Welcome to South Sudan." I was about to text Justin when he texted me to tell me the flight had been cancelled. So I called the hotel to send a driver. He came and I returned to the hotel. Even though they have internet service with a cable hook up in the room there was no internet until now (dark at around 7:15). So I filled my time with other things, including a nice long nap. Having people all around fully engaged in conversation but myself speaking only when necessary, is like being on a silent retreat at Richmond Hill. This wasn't planned but I turned this whole trip over to God many times (you know how we turn it over and then take it back -thus the reason for turning it over many times) so just surrendered this day of silent retreat as well. Tomorrow I try again to get to Rumbek, God willing. I mentioned yesterday that I would share costs so those of you considering a trip here will know what to expect. Amarat Classic Hotel, where I am staying here in Juba, is $120/night and that includes shuttle to and from the airport, breakfast, dinner, and one bottle of water. I tip the driver about 10SSP or around $2.50. I also purchased minutes for the phone as I already had the sim card for Africa. The minutes are cheap. I would suggest a group who comes might want to share phones, sim cards, and minutes. I am not doing this but I believe you can purchase a Zain sim card for your smart phone and use it much like you do at home for phone, text, internet, etc. I would guess the internet part will work best at night, possibly only at night. I have a Zain modum that I use with my netbook. It works only after dark. It is the rainy season here so the ground is always wet, muddy, lots of puddles. Today it did not rain hard like it did yesterday but it did drizzle much of the day with some nice sun mid-afternoon. It got warm but not uncomfortable (of course, I was in my air-conditioned room much of the afternoon!). I skipped lunch today (not included in the package) so I am hungry now and going to dinner. Keep up the prayers!